Robin Cooke Lecture 2015: Professor Jeremy Waldron
Esteemed New Zealand professor of law and philosophy Jeremy Waldron will deliver this year’s Robin Cooke Lecture on 17 December.
Esteemed New Zealand professor of law and philosophy Jeremy Waldron will deliver this year’s Robin Cooke Lecture on 17 December.
Professor Waldron, currently based at the New York University School of Law and formerly the Chichele Professor of Social and Political Theory at Oxford’s All Souls College, will explore the topic ‘Rule by Law: A Much Maligned Preposition’.
The ideal of the rule of law is often contrasted with the formulation ‘rule by law’, a contrast almost always intended to the detriment of rule by law, says Professor Waldron.
“Rule by law is associated with the use of law as a tool to serve the ends of power; it is associated with a perversion of rule of law ideals by authoritarian regimes, in modern China for example. These critiques are important. But it is important to see also that they don’t quite get at the value of rule by law.”
This includes, for example, the value of legislation and legislatures as law-making bodies.
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Law Professor Mark Hickford says he was delighted Professor Waldron had accepted the invitation to deliver one of the Faculty’s flagship public lectures for the year, given in honour of the late Lord Cooke of Thorndon, a Victoria law alumnus widely considered New Zealand’s most eminent jurist.
“We look forward to opening our doors to alumni, colleagues and our legal, public sector and government neighbours to hear from this world-renowned and prolific scholar and to celebrate the end of a busy year.”
Born and educated in New Zealand before heading to Oxford to study for his doctorate in legal philosophy, Waldron has written extensively on jurisprudence and political theory, including numerous books and articles on theories of rights, constitutionalism, the rule of law, democracy, property, torture, security, homelessness, and the philosophy of international law.
Among his books, in 2010 he wrote Torture, Terror, and Trade-offs: Philosophy for the White House, offering a challenging and influential voice in the moral, political and legal debates surrounding the response to terrorism since 9/11.
The Robin Cooke Lecture will take place at the Law School at 5.30pm on Thursday 17 December, followed by the Law School Christmas drinks. Please RSVP (acceptances only) to RobinCookeLecture@vuw.ac.nz, 04 463 6327 by 10 December 2015.